Instagram Profile Posts Scraper — Exact Limit, No Login

Your result limit is the law. Set it to 30 and you get 30 — not 31, not 240 because the page size said so. Every post and reel from any public Instagram profile, no login and no cookies, and a post we could not deliver is never charged.

Paste a handle. Get the posts — the newest page or the full archive back to the feed's start, in one run.

Just want to see it work? Click Start with nothing set and the run collects the 5 newest posts of one public profile (bbcnews), charged like any run — about a cent — so the first thing you see is real rows in the exact schema. Press it again and the same posts come back uncharged. Set only the filters — a post type, a date, a limit — and no profiles, and the same sample runs under your settings, charged like any run; a limit larger than the sample's own is capped at it. Add your own handles for your own run.

Running the same profiles again? A post already delivered to your account is never charged a second time — it is skipped, with the count on the status line, or handed back uncharged if you ask for it (see Never pay for the same post twice).

Unofficial. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc. This actor reads publicly available profile pages; Instagram is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc.

Output

One row per post, one row per profile, and every row carries charged and status — so your invoice reconciles from the dataset itself. Real rows below, taken from a verified run against nasa (captions trimmed with … for the page):

Newest first means newest by date. Instagram's own grid leads with the posts the owner pinned to the top, so "the latest 3" on a public API is usually three pinned posts and none of the three newest. Rows here are ordered by takenAt, so your limit buys the most recent posts — pinned posts still ship, in their real date position, flagged with isPinned so you can filter them.

The first row above in full, exactly as it lands in the dataset (caption and signed URL trimmed with … for the page):

{
  "postId": "3972507450993765709",
  "shortCode": "DchLnq8E21N",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DchLnq8E21N/",
  "type": "carousel",
  "productType": "carousel_container",
  "caption": "How it started 👉 how it's going\n\nOn Aug. 30, our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will lift off to space, where it will change the way we view the cosmos…",
  "hashtags": ["nasa", "roman", "launch"],
  "mentions": ["nasakennedy"],
  "takenAt": "2026-08-26T21:30:18.000Z",
  "takenAtTimestamp": 1787779818,
  "likeCount": 19990,
  "commentCount": 140,
  "playCount": null,
  "videoDuration": null,
  "displayUrl": "https://instagram.fruh4-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.82787-15/788528368_…",
  "videoUrl": null,
  "videoUrlExpiresAt": null,
  "carouselCount": 2,
  "dimensionsWidth": 1440,
  "dimensionsHeight": 1920,
  "ownerUsername": "nasa",
  "ownerFullName": "NASA",
  "ownerIsVerified": true,
  "taggedUsers": [],
  "coauthors": [],
  "isPinned": false,
  "isSponsored": false,
  "postSource": "feed",
  "profileHandle": "nasa",
  "charged": true,
  "status": "delivered",
  "statusReason": null
}

And one profile row per handle you asked about — uncharged, always:

{
  "profileHandle": "nasa",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
  "fullName": "NASA",
  "biography": "Making the seemingly impossible, possible. ✨",
  "externalUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/",
  "followers": 104427542,
  "following": 92,
  "postCount": 4893,
  "isVerified": true,
  "isPrivate": false,
  "isBusiness": true,
  "categoryName": "Government Agencies",
  "postsReturned": 30,
  "postsFiltered": 0,
  "charged": false,
  "status": "profile",
  "statusReason": "Profile row for \"nasa\" — 30 posts returned. This row itself carries no result fee."
}

Every field is always present (explicit null over silent omission), so a row from the profile route and a row from the depth route are the same shape.

With a watchlist name set, every post row also carries the two fields the list adds —

"isNew": true

Agent / API paste-block

Actor:   steadyfetch/instagram-profile-posts  (Apify Store)
Does:    Instagram handle -> every post and reel that public profile has published.
         One JSON row per post + one uncharged profile row per handle.
         No Instagram login, no cookies.
Run:     POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/steadyfetch~instagram-profile-posts/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=APIFY_TOKEN
Input:
  {
    "profiles": ["nasa", "https://www.instagram.com/bbcnews/"],
    "resultsLimit": 30,        // HARD cap per profile, newest BY DATE (1-5000)
    "maxItems": 1000,          // HARD cap for the whole run (1-100000)
    "maxRunSeconds": 1800,     // clean stop before the platform timeout; deep archives fit at 1800-3600
    "mediaType": "any",        // any | image | video | carousel
    "postedAfter": "2026-01-01",
    "postedBefore": "2026-08-01",
    "datasetId": "<dataset id of a run that emits handles>",
    "datasetItems": [ { "username": "nasa" } ],
    "resumeCursor": { },       // from a previous run's summary row: continues it exactly
    "watchlistId": "acme-brands", // optional: a separate named list per profile set
    "newPostsOnly": false,     // ON: fail-closed — stop rather than risk charging a post you have
    "includeSeen": false       // ON: hand back posts you already have (repeat: true), uncharged
  }
Nulls:   every optional field above accepts null, meaning "use the default" — so a template
         that renders one body per run can send null for whatever it left unset.
         "profiles" is the one field that needs a real value.
Output   post rows: postId, shortCode, url, type, productType, caption, hashtags[],
         mentions[], takenAt, takenAtTimestamp, likeCount, commentCount, playCount,
         videoDuration, displayUrl, videoUrl, videoUrlExpiresAt, carouselCount,
         dimensionsWidth, dimensionsHeight, ownerUsername, ownerFullName,
         ownerIsVerified, taggedUsers[], coauthors[], isPinned, isSponsored,
         postSource, profileHandle, charged, status, statusReason
         profile rows (uncharged): profileHandle, profileUrl, fullName, biography,
         externalUrl, followers, following, postCount, isVerified, isPrivate,
         isBusiness, categoryName, postsReturned, postsFiltered
         one final summary row: delivered, profilesRequested, stoppedBy, resumeCursor
Pricing  pay per event, platform usage INCLUDED, nothing charged for starting a run:
  post            $0.0024 -> $0.0006 per delivered post (falls with your Apify plan tier)
  profile-lookup  $0.003 flat per profile that delivers >= 1 post (from 16 September 2026)
  Charged only on delivery — private accounts, wrong handles, empty profiles,
  filtered-out posts and Instagram's own walls cost $0, lookup included.
  Cap any run with maxTotalChargeUsd (minimum $0.05).
MCP:     reachable through Apify's MCP server; ask for "instagram profile posts".

Input

Handles (nasa), or profile URLs (https://www.instagram.com/nasa/). Capital letters, a leading @ and a trailing slash are all fine. You can also chain a Dataset ID from a previous run and this actor will find the profiles in it.

Optional: max posts per profile, max posts for the whole run, post type, posted-after and posted-before dates, max run seconds.

Every one of those optional fields accepts null, meaning "use the default" — so a template or an agent that renders one request body per run can send null for whatever it left unset instead of building a different body each time. profiles is the one field that needs a real value.

Leave the input empty and the run is the default sample: the 5 newest posts of bbcnews, charged like any run, so you see the exact schema on real data. The status line says it was the sample and how to run your own handles. Set only filters and no Instagram profiles and that sample runs under them — your settings are kept, everything you did not set takes the sample's own value, and one uncharged row names which was which.

Never pay for the same post twice

Every run remembers the posts it delivered for your account — in a key-value store called ig-posts-watch-account in your own Apify account, under every identity the post has (its short code and its numeric id). Run the same profiles again, at any depth, and the posts you already have are skipped before they take a row slot: not delivered again, not charged, and not counted against your limits — the run keeps reading until it has filled Max posts per profile with posts you do not already have. The status line says how many (4 already in your account, skipped, not charged) and OUTPUT.skippedSeen holds the number.

Want one complete dataset per run instead of only what changed? Turn on Include posts you already have (includeSeen: true) and those posts come back anyway — marked repeat: true with firstSeenAt and firstSeenRunId naming the run that first delivered them,

charged: false

Delete that store to forget everything; entries older than 90 days count as new again. If the store cannot be read on some run, the run still runs — it delivers and charges as usual and the status line says the repeat check was unavailable, so you know a repeat may have been charged that once.

Watch profiles on a schedule

Following a profile is rarely a one-off: the question is usually what did they post since last week? A watchlist keeps a separate list per profile set, on top of the account-wide memory above.

1. Put the profiles in Instagram profiles (a chained dataset works too).
2. Give the run a Watchlist name, e.g. acme-brands, and turn on New posts only.
3. Save the input as a Task, put the Task on an Apify Schedule (daily fits most profiles), and add an integration or a webhook on run succeeded — a Google Sheet, Slack, n8n, Make, or your own endpoint.

{
  "profiles": ["nasa", "natgeo"],
  "resultsLimit": 30,
  "watchlistId": "acme-brands",
  "newPostsOnly": true
}

Each scheduled run then delivers only the posts that are new, each with isNew: true and its firstSeenAt. Posts you already have are skipped before they take a row — not delivered again and not charged — and the run's status line says exactly what happened, for example: 4 already in your account, skipped, not charged. The same numbers sit in the run's OUTPUT record under watchlist, newItems, skippedSeen and repeatMemory. With New posts only on, a post you already have still holds its place in the window the run reads, which is what keeps a daily monitoring run reading the newest Max posts per profile rather than walking into the archive to replace it. Leave New posts only off and the opposite holds: a post you already have costs you nothing at all, so the run keeps reading until it has filled your limit with posts you lack.

Some details worth knowing:

• The list lives in your account, in a named key-value store called

  ig-posts-watch-<your name>
  (one record, SEEN). Open it in Storage → Key-value stores to see every post the actor has delivered under that name, or delete the record to start the list over. This actor runs with limited permissions and touches nothing else in your account.
• Only delivered posts go on the list. A profile Instagram would not serve this minute, a private account or a wrong handle leaves nothing behind, so the next run tries it again.
• What "new" compares against. The actor reads each profile's most recent posts (up to Max posts per profile) and checks those against the list — so a daily run with the default 30 catches anything posted since, and a profile that posts more than that a day just needs a higher number.
• Leave New posts only off and posts you already have are still never charged twice — the account memory above does that on its own. Turn Include posts you already have on to get them back in every run's dataset, uncharged.
• New posts only makes the rail fail-closed. With it on, a run that can read neither your watchlist nor your account's memory ships one uncharged row and stops, rather than risk charging you for posts you may already have. A named watchlist it cannot open stops the run the same way, before any spend.
• The listing itself is one request per profile page whatever it holds; what the filter saves is the rows, the charges and your limits. One post, one sighting, however it arrives.

Deep archives: ask once, get the archive

Set a date window or a deep result limit and the run walks the profile's feed to wherever your ask ends — verified live on a 718-post profile: the full feed, back to its first post from December 2011, in a single ~9-minute run. A 1,000-post archive takes about 13 minutes; leave "Max run seconds" at 1800, or raise it to 3600 for the biggest profiles.

Two honest numbers ride every finished archive:

• The depth meter. Instagram's public feed exposes slightly fewer posts than the profile's own counter for many accounts (a profile counting 718 serves 693 — no login changes that). When the feed genuinely ends, the profile row says exactly that: "Instagram's feed exposes 693 of the 718 posts the profile counts." Complete archive, gap named, nothing silently missing.
• The resume point. If an archive outruns your time or cost limit, the final summary row carries a resumeCursor. Pass it back as input — {"resumeCursor": …} — and the next run continues exactly where the last one stopped: completed profiles skipped, no post read twice, nothing already delivered charged again. For agents: re-run with the summary's resumeCursor until it comes back null — the archive is then complete.

The limits are hard, and they name themselves

Three things can stop a run: your result limit, your maximum cost per run, or your time limit. Whichever binds, the run still finishes successfully, the last row tells you which one it was and what is still pending — including the exact resumeCursor to continue — and only delivered posts were charged. You will never have to guess which knob to raise.

The result limit is exact under concurrency too: two profiles are read in parallel, and a whole-run cap of 1 still delivers exactly one row and exactly one charge.

What it costs

One result = one delivered post or reel, with everything Instagram publishes about it in the same row. There is no second charge for "details" — no per-field, per-comment or per-image top-up. Nothing is charged for starting a run, no subscription, no third-party API key to buy.

from $0.60/1,000 posts — $0.0024 each on the free plan, falling to $0.0006 on the top Apify plan tier. Platform usage (compute + transfer) is included in the event price, so the per-post price you see is the whole price.

From 16 September 2026, each profile that delivers posts adds one profile lookup of $0.003 (flat, the same on every plan). Per-post prices are unchanged. A profile that delivers nothing — private, removed, unreachable, or nothing new on a watched list — pays no lookup. It covers the extra connections a walled profile needs to be read at all; before that date no lookup is charged.

What can fail, and it carries no result fee when it does. These rows ship with charged: false, always:

None of these rows carries the profile lookup either: it is charged only on a profile that delivered at least one post. Posts your filters excluded are also never delivered and never charged; the profile row counts them. Cap any run with Maximum cost per run (any amount from $0.05 up) and it stops cleanly before your ceiling.

A small ask is never asked to overpay for a hard profile. When Instagram walls a profile, the run tries further connections only while what you asked for can cover them. If it cannot — a very small result limit on a plan's lowest per-post price — the profile row says so and names the fix: ask for more posts per profile. Nothing is charged for a profile that stops there.

Honesty contract

A profile that returns nothing still gets a row, and the row says why — uncharged, every time:

A post that appears on two profiles you asked for (a co-authored post) is one row and one charge, not two. In the rare case Instagram stops serving a profile past every recovery, the profile row says so, is marked worth re-running, and the summary carries the exact resume point — a partial answer never reads like a complete one, and never makes you start over. When Instagram stops serving a profile's post feed part-way, you get the pages it did serve plus that resume point, and the run stops waiting on that feed after three tries that recovered nothing — so your run is not buying compute against a wall that is not lifting.

This actor may fail when the platform changes things — failed items are never charged.

Freshness

Post data is read live on every run, so it is as current as Instagram's own public profile page. The videoUrl and image links are signed by Instagram and expire in roughly 1–3 days — the videoUrlExpiresAt column tells you exactly when, so download or transcribe soon after the run rather than months later. The permalink in url never expires.

Works with

Chain this actor's output straight into the transcript actors, or feed it from any actor that emits Instagram handles.

A Dataset ID that does not exist is answered as a wrong ID, on one uncharged row naming it — never as "your rows carried no profiles", and no empty dataset is created under the typo. A chained dataset holding more than 5,000 rows is read to that limit and one uncharged row says how many rows it holds and how many were read, so a chained run never comes back quietly short.

Steadyfetch Instagram suite

Handle in, structured rows out. All-inclusive pay per event, nothing charged for starting a run, charged only on delivery. From 16 September 2026 profile posts adds one profile lookup of $0.003 per profile that delivers posts; a profile that delivers nothing pays nothing.

The rest of the steadyfetch shelf — same contract everywhere: all-inclusive pay per event, nothing charged for starting a run, charged only on delivery (three actors add a small delivery-conditional fee from 16 September 2026: keyword volume's fresh lookup, profile posts' profile lookup, Google Jobs' search fee — each README states it).

Feedback & support

Found an issue? Open it on the Issues tab — we usually reply within a couple of hours, always within a day. Include the input you used. Bugs on our side are fixed; misses on Instagram's side are documented in the row you already have.

Using an AI agent? Pin this actor in Apify's MCP server with one link: https://mcp.apify.com?tools=steadyfetch/instagram-profile-posts.

If it earned its keep, a rating helps other buyers find it, and saving the actor keeps it one click away.